


Stay

by birene (zeroambi)



Category: Dead Zone
Genre: Multi, Schmoop
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-06-17
Updated: 2007-06-17
Packaged: 2017-10-19 21:32:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/205429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zeroambi/pseuds/birene
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Walt has something to show Johnny.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stay

It was Walt who opened the door, for which Johnny was thankful, because his contacts with Sarah had become more than a little awkward ever since the abduction.

"Hey, Johnny!" Walt greeted him.

"Hi. I just wanted to bring back JJ’s skateboard. He forgot it over the weekend," Johnny explained, holding up the board he had brought with him.

"Oh, thanks," Walt said, taking it from his hands. "He’s not back from school yet, but come in. I have to show you something," he added, with a big goofy grin on his face. Ever since the news of Sarah and the baby being safe, Walt was beaming like a Christmas tree.

"What is it?" Johnny asked stepping into the house.

"You’ll see, it’s in the basement." Walt leaned the skateboard against the hallway wall and led the way down the stairs.

"Sarah's not here?" Johnny asked, not having been able to make her out anywhere.

"Nah. She has an appointment with her gynaecologist," explained Walt. "I was using the time to polish up the nursery. I did most of the work over the weekend, because I wanted it to be finished for our anniversary tomorrow."

Walt opened the door to the expanded ex-storage room and let Johnny enter before him. It was amazing how much bigger the room now appeared. There was a crib placed in the middle, new cupboards and a changing table on the side. Everything was bright and it smelled of fresh paint.

"Wow," Johnny said looking around. "You did all this over the weekend? It looks awesome. Sarah will love it."

"Ya think?" Walt crossed the room proudly. He poked the mobile over the crib and ruffled the stuffed lion, that was sitting on the changing table. "You don’t think it’s a bit too much?" he asked.

Johnny shook his head. "No. I think its perfect."

"Oh, hey! Look at this." Walt kneeled down, pulled out a baby xylophone from under the crib and started to hit random keys with its sticks, before he met Johnny’s curious look.

"Yeah, I know it will be a while till the baby can play with it, but it was on sale and Sarah always says, that you can’t start early enough with some musical education," he explained. Hitting some more keys that sounded especially off, he made a face. "Well, I guess it’s too late for me." They both had to laugh.

"You know, it’s good you’re here, ‘cause I wanted to ask to you something," Walt said getting serious again.

"Yeah?"

"Well, me and Sarah have talked and we thought - we agreed, that we would like you to be the godfather of the baby. What do you say?" Walt asked smiling.

And this was it, the moment of truth, though Johnny. No possibility of being cagey about it any longer.

"Walt, I-I can’t even say how much that means much to me," he started. "I’m really flattered, but, um... I won’t be here anymore when the baby comes."

"What do you mean, you won’t be here?" Walt asked bemused. "You better be here, you already missed out on the first time."

Johnny shook his head. "I’m leaving Cleaves Mills."

Walt’s face fell, as he caught on that Johnny was serious. "Why now?" he finally asked hard voiced.

"It’s Janus and his little cabal around Stillson. They are threatening me," confessed Johnny.

"Threatening how?" Walt sounded like a cop now. A really annoyed cop.

"Well, Janus likes to speak in biblical verses for the most part, so it’s just vague stuff about the end of the world. And some not so vague stuff about me joining their cause or dying," elaborated Johnny.

Walt got up from his knees looking positively furious know. "What the hell do they want from you!?" he yelled with a frustration Johnny could very good empathise with.

"I don’t know." he said defeated. "I just know it’s nothing good. And I don’t want you and Sarah and the kids in any of this."

"I don’t like this," Walt hissed and started to pace the room. "Are you sure running away is the right answer?" he asked impatiently. "Because I hate to tell you this, but if they want to use me or our family against you, they can do that anyway. Whether you're here in their midst, or wherever!"

"Walt, I just don’t want to endanger your-"

"And it is our family," Walt affirmed. "See, I wasn’t kidding when I said that we are going to have a baby, you know? If it weren’t for you, Sarah would be dead and I would be in prison or worse. I owe you that much."

"You don’t owe me anything Walt," objected Johnny.

"Well, no, on the one hand I don’t," he said sardonically, and Johnny dodged his look, because it was pretty obvious what he was alluding to. "But on the other hand, maybe I do," he added quietly looking at the crib. "That’s JJ’s crib, you know?" he said pointing to it.

"Really?"

"Yeah. I just gave it a new paintjob," explained Walt and ran one hand over the crib’s bars. "Go ahead, touch it," he invited Johnny and gave him some room.

Simmering with excitement Johnny clasped a hand around the upper bar and waited for a vision. He wasn’t sure if it was the new paint, but he didn’t get anything. He shook his head, indicating to Walt who watched him curiously, that it didn’t work.

"How about now?" asked Walt and put his hand over Johnny’s. Johnny looked up at him in surprise and Walt closely entwined their fingers and ...

 _... there is Sarah, sitting in a rocking chair, nursing little JJ. She’s running a finger over JJ’s still sparse hair and singing a lullaby for him._

 _... there is JJ squealing with glee, as Walt is holding him up high over his had, playing plane with him._

 _... there is Walt placing JJ into the crib tucking him tightly into his baby blanket._

... when Johnny came back from the dead zone, he was fighting back some tears looking gratefully into Walt’s eyes.

"Stay," pleaded Walt, returning the look. "At least until the baby is born."

Johnny nodded and gave Walt’s hand a firm squeeze through their entwined fingers. But the intimacy of the moment was suddenly disrupted by somebody rumbling down the stairs.

"Dad?" JJ yelled in an inquiring tone. They hastily drove apart, like teenagers embarrassed to get caught holding hands, only seconds before JJ appeared in the doorframe.

"Oh, hey Johnny, thanks for bringing the board back," his son said when spotting him. "I was wondering where it came from."

"You’re welcome," answered Johnny.

"What are you two doing down here?" JJ wanted to know.

"I was just showing Johnny the new nursery," explained Walt. "It’s finished; a surprise for your mother tomorrow."

"Oh," JJ looked around.

"So, what do you think?" Johnny asked JJ curiously.

"It’s pink," deadpanned JJ, which made Walt snort and Johnny stifle a giggle.

"Yeah. Pink." Walt shook his head. "Well, your mother likes pink, or so I’ve heard," he gave Johnny an intimate look.

"She does," Johnny confirmed smiling. "And I’m sure your sister will like it too," he added. But JJ looked skeptical.

"If you say so," he shrugged. "I’m hungry, do we have something to eat?" he turned towards the really important issues.

"I don’t think so. But I could make us all some sandwiches, before your mother comes home," suggested Walt, as the three of them were about to leave the nursery.

"Okay," agreed JJ. "But no tuna fish please!"


End file.
